Hydrological Monitoring Research Articles

The quantification and correction of wind-induced precipitation measurement errors

Abstract. Hydrologic measurements are important for both the short- and long-term management of water resources. Of the terms in the hydrologic budget, precipitation is typically the most important input; however, measurements of precipitation are subject to large errors and biases. For example, an all-weather unshielded weighing precipitation gauge can collect less than 50 % of the actual amount of solid precipitation when wind speeds exceed 5 m s−1. Using results from two different precipitation test beds, such errors have been assessed for unshielded weighing gauges and for weighing gauges employing four of the most common windshields currently in use. Functions to correct wind-induced undercatch were developed and tested. In addition, corrections for the single-Alter weighing gauge were developed using the combined results of two separate sites in Norway and the USA. In general, the results indicate that the functions effectively correct the undercatch bias that affects such precipitation measurements. In addition, a single function developed for the single-Alter gauges effectively decreased the bias at both sites, with the bias at the US site improving from −12 to 0 %, and the bias at the Norwegian site improving from −27 to −4 %. These correction functions require only wind speed and air temperature as inputs, and were developed for use in national and local precipitation networks, hydrological monitoring, roadway and airport safety work, and climate change research. The techniques used to develop and test these transfer functions at more than one site can also be used for other more comprehensive studies, such as the World Meteorological Organization Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (WMO-SPICE).

Climate Change and Its Influence on the Karst Groundwater Recharge in the Jinci Spring Region, Northern China

Due to climate change and human activities over the last fifty years, the spring flow volume of karst groundwater has sharply diminished in China. Climate change is one of the critical factors that initiates a series of karst hydrogeologic and water ecological environmental problems, because the precipitation shows a decreasing trend while the temperature shows an increasing trend. The Jinci Spring is one of the largest, most famous springs in northern China. This study employed data from the Taiyuan Meteorological Station and ten precipitation stations in and around the Jinci Spring region as well as the runoff data gathered from two hydrological monitoring stations during 1960–2012. The sliding average method and the Mann-Kendall test were used to analyze the variation tendency of precipitation, temperature, and land evaporation in this area. Finally, the following were calculated: the varying pattern of the karst groundwater recharge amount and the response of the recharge amount to precipitation, land evaporation, and river runoff by quantitative analysis. The results indicated that the precipitation and land evaporation amount decreased at first and then subsequently increased. Likewise, the variation trend of the karst groundwater recharge amount in the spring region was roughly consistent with the precipitation variation pattern. In contrast, the temperature displayed an increasing trend. The climate change resulted in a reduction of the karst groundwater recharge amount, and it had the greatest influence in the 1990s, which caused the karst groundwater recharge amount to decrease 26.75 mm as compared to that of the 1960s (about 39.68% lower than that of the 1960s). The Jinci Spring had zero flow during this period. The reduction in precipitation was one of main factors that caused the cutoff of the Jinci Spring.

A high space–time resolution dataset linking meteorological forcing and hydro-sedimentary response in a mesoscale Mediterranean catchment (Auzon) of the Ardèche region, France

Abstract. A comprehensive hydrometeorological dataset is presented spanning the period 1 January 2011–31 December 2014 to improve the understanding of the hydrological processes leading to flash floods and the relation between rainfall, runoff, erosion and sediment transport in a mesoscale catchment (Auzon, 116 km2) of the Mediterranean region. Badlands are present in the Auzon catchment and well connected to high-gradient channels of bedrock rivers which promotes the transfer of suspended solids downstream. The number of observed variables, the various sensors involved (both in situ and remote) and the space–time resolution ( ∼ km2, ∼ min) of this comprehensive dataset make it a unique contribution to research communities focused on hydrometeorology, surface hydrology and erosion. Given that rainfall is highly variable in space and time in this region, the observation system enables assessment of the hydrological response to rainfall fields. Indeed, (i) rainfall data are provided by rain gauges (both a research network of 21 rain gauges with a 5 min time step and an operational network of 10 rain gauges with a 5 min or 1 h time step), S-band Doppler dual-polarization radars (1 km2, 5 min resolution), disdrometers (16 sensors working at 30 s or 1 min time step) and Micro Rain Radars (5 sensors, 100 m height resolution). Additionally, during the special observation period (SOP-1) of the HyMeX (Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment) project, two X-band radars provided precipitation measurements at very fine spatial and temporal scales (1 ha, 5 min). (ii) Other meteorological data are taken from the operational surface weather observation stations of Météo-France (including 2 m air temperature, atmospheric pressure, 2 m relative humidity, 10 m wind speed and direction, global radiation) at the hourly time resolution (six stations in the region of interest). (iii) The monitoring of surface hydrology and suspended sediment is multi-scale and based on nested catchments. Three hydrometric stations estimate water discharge at a 2–10 min time resolution. Two of these stations also measure additional physico-chemical variables (turbidity, temperature, conductivity) and water samples are collected automatically during floods, allowing further geochemical characterization of water and suspended solids. Two experimental plots monitor overland flow and erosion at 1 min time resolution on a hillslope with vineyard. A network of 11 sensors installed in the intermittent hydrographic network continuously measures water level and water temperature in headwater subcatchments (from 0.17 to 116 km2) at a time resolution of 2–5 min. A network of soil moisture sensors enables the continuous measurement of soil volumetric water content at 20 min time resolution at 9 sites. Additionally, concomitant observations (soil moisture measurements and stream gauging) were performed during floods between 2012 and 2014. Finally, this dataset is considered appropriate for understanding the rainfall variability in time and space at fine scales, improving areal rainfall estimations and progressing in distributed hydrological and erosion modelling. DOI of the referenced dataset: doi:10.6096/MISTRALS-HyMeX.1438.

Soil Moisture for Hydrological Applications: Open Questions and New Opportunities

Soil moisture is widely recognized as a key parameter in the mass and energy balance between the land surface and the atmosphere and, hence, the potential societal benefits of an accurate estimation of soil moisture are immense. Recently, scientific community is making great effort for addressing the estimation of soil moisture over large areas through in situ sensors, remote sensing and modelling approaches. The different techniques used for addressing the monitoring of soil moisture for hydrological applications are briefly reviewed here. Moreover, some examples in which in situ and satellite soil moisture data are successfully employed for improving hydrological monitoring and predictions (e.g., floods, landslides, precipitation and irrigation) are presented. Finally, the emerging applications, the open issues and the future opportunities given by the increased availability of soil moisture measurements are outlined.

Some thoughts on the monitoring and preservation of waterlogged archeological sites in eastern England

This study reviews five hydrological monitoring projects used on archeological sites in the waterlogged landscapes of fenland East Anglia and east Yorkshire in England. The project design, recorded variables, and implications of each are discussed. In particular, the importance of understanding the landscape context is paramount, and retrieving an appropriate dataset over a sufficiently lengthy period of time to obtain reliable results and predictability. Some of the lessons learnt and outstanding problems are explored. As former wetlands are fast disappearing around the world through dewatering and a host of wider development threats such as urbanization and gravel extraction, the low intrusion suite of methods described here for measuring the degree and certainty of organic preservation is doubly important for establishing the viability of preservation in situ schemes for waterlogged archeological sites. This is crucial to get right, as wetland archeological records are an irreplaceable resource which offer extraordinarily full and diverse datasets of human lifeways which are all too often either poorly preserved or erroneously interpreted because of the skewed datasets recovered from dryland sites. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1204. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1204This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Methods Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented

Spline approximation-based data compression for sensor arrays in the wireless hydrologic monitoring system

A sensor array produces lots of bits of data every sample period, which may cause a heavy burden on the long-distance wireless data transmission, especially in the scenarios of wireless sensor networks. A lossy but error-bounded sensor array data compression algorithm is proposed, in which the major part of the sensor array data are approximated by the Catmull-Rom spline curve and the residual errors are quantized and encoded with Huffman coding. The performance of this algorithm has been evaluated with a real data set from the wireless hydrologic monitoring system deployed in Qinhuangdao Port of China. The results show that the algorithm performs well for the hydrologic sensor array data.

An environmental assessment of water replenishment to a floodplain lake

There are numerous wetland rehabilitation projects worldwide, but their efficiency is seldom assessed comprehensively. Oxbow lakes are wetlands of particular sensitivity. Within a large-scale floodplain rehabilitation project in Hungary, the Old Drava Programme, water replenishment was first carried out for the Cún-Szaporca oxbow lakes, a key area in the project. To assess its sustainability, the entire hydrological system has been monitored. From the data of hydrological monitoring (infiltration, soil moisture, groundwater/lakewater interaction) it is claimed that water replenishment involves significant losses through seepage (4.1 and 1.46 mm d−1) and evaporation (3.01 and 1.44 mm d−1) in the studied pre-intervention and replenishment periods, resp. Infiltration alone is insufficient to replenish groundwater and raise oxbow lake levels. In the critical summer half-year evaporation is intensive in the neighbouring agricultural fields. Groundwater table dynamics are controlled by hyporheic and groundwater flow. Major impact on the water balance of the oxbow lakes is exerted by the regime of the Drava River. A deepened lakebed is recommended to ensure more effective water retention in the oxbow lake. From the local study conclusions are drawn for the feasibility of rehabilitation at floodplain scale and in areas with similar hydromorphological conditions.

Enhancing the spatial rainfall uniformity of pressurized nozzle simulators

PurposeRainfall simulators are used on experimental hydrology, in areas such as, e.g., urban drainage and soil erosion, with important timesaving when compared to real scale hydrological monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to increase the quality of rainfall simulation, namely, for its use with scaled physical models.Design/methodology/approachTwo pressurized rainfall simulators are considered. M1 uses three HH-W 1/4 FullJet nozzles under an operating pressure of 166.76 kPa and was tested over a 4.00 m length by 2.00 m width V-shaped surface. M2 was prepared to produce artificial rainfall over an area of 10.00 m length by 10.00 m width. The spatial distribution of rainfall produced from a single nozzle was characterized in order to theoretically find the best positioning for nozzles to cover the full 100 m2 area with the best possible rainfall uniformity.FindingsExperiments with M1 led to an average rainfall intensity of 76.77-82.25 mm h−1 with a 24.88 per cent variation coefficient and a Christiansen Uniformity Coefficient (CUC) of 78.86 per cent. The best result with M2 was an average rainfall intensity of 75.12-76.83 mm h−1 with a 21.23 per cent variation coefficient and a CUC of 83.05 per cent.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to increase the quality of artificial rainfall produced by pressurized rainfall simulators.Originality/valueM2 is the largest rainfall simulator known by the authors worldwide. Its use on rainfall-runoff studies (e.g. urban areas, erosion, pollutant transport) will allow for a better understanding of complex surface hydrology processes.

Развитие гидрологической обстановки на реках по данным двухчастотного дождевого радиолокатора: первые результаты

Развитие гидрологической обстановки на реках по данным двухчастотного дождевого радиолокатора: первые результаты

Remote monitoring of urban flooding based on the warning system of INEA-RJ, Brazil

The purpose of this article is to analyse the flood-warning systems through remote management to the risk of extreme hydrological events carried out by the State Institute for the Environment (INEA-RJ). The methodology involves selecting hydrological monitoring stations located in the region of the Fluminense Lowlands, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, with the observed data of the water levels of the river and rainfall. The results suggested there was a period of about 2 hours and 15 minutes from the time the river reached an 80% spillover rate until the complete overflow of the volume of water in the section monitored, in the town of Duque de Caxias-RJ-Brasil. The remote management of the rain recommended by the INEA will make it possible to broaden its range of measures for planning and response to urban risks, and in particular to provide an instant response to the civil defence of the town.

长江口深水航道治理工程水文监测技术应用

长江口河势多变，潮流、含沙量时空变化复杂，航道治理难度大。在长江口深水航道治理工程建设过程中，水文监测部门采用ADCP测流、GPS导航定位、OBS测沙等新技术与流速流向仪测流、横式采样器取分层悬移质含沙量等常规技术相结合的技术路线；收集了不同的上游来水和长江口区代表潮等水沙边界条件、工程的不同时期、航道的不同区段的潮流、含沙量资料。这些为工程设计、施工、维护、动态管理提供了科学依据，为工程的数模、物模的率定和验证提供了基础资料。 Due to rapidly changing river regimes and high temporal and spatial variability of tidal currents and suspended sediment concentrations, the regulation of the navigational channel has been greatly difficult in the estuary of Changjiang River. During the construction of the regulation project of the deep-water navigational channel in the estuary, the hydrological monitoring department has utilized the new techniques including ADCP, GPS and OBS together with the conventional techniques including the current speed and direction meter for the measurements of tidal currents and the horizontal sampler for the layered sampling of suspended sediment concentrations. Tidal currents and suspended sediment concentrations have been collected for the different river discharges from the upper reach under the different flow/sediment boundary conditions for the characteristic tides at the different phases of the regulation project and in the different areas of the navigational channel. The results have provided scientific basis for project design, construction, maintenance and dynamic management. The basic data set can be used for calibration and verification of mathematical and physical models.

Remote monitoring of urban flooding based on the warning system of INEA-RJ, Brazil

The purpose of this article is to analyse the flood-warning systems through remote management to the risk of extreme hydrological events carried out by the State Institute for the Environment (INEA-RJ). The methodology involves selecting hydrological monitoring stations located in the region of the Fluminense Lowlands, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, with the observed data of the water levels of the river and rainfall. The results suggested there was a period of about 2 hours and 15 minutes from the time the river reached an 80% spillover rate until the complete overflow of the volume of water in the section monitored, in the town of Duque de Caxias-RJ-Brasil. The remote management of the rain recommended by the INEA will make it possible to broaden its range of measures for planning and response to urban risks, and in particular to provide an instant response to the civil defence of the town.

Hydrological and Geophysical Investigation of Streamflow Losses and Restoration Strategies in an Abandoned Mine Lands Setting

Abstract Longitudinal discharge and water-quality campaigns (seepage runs) were combined with surface geophysical surveys, hyporheic zone temperature profiling, and watershed-scale hydrological monitoring to evaluate the locations, magnitude, and impact of stream-water losses from the West Creek sub-basin of the West West Branch Schuylkill River into the underground Oak Hill Mine complex that extends beneath the watershed divide. Abandoned mine drainage, containing iron and other contaminants, from the Oak Hill Boreholes to the West Branch Schuylkill River was sustained during low-flow conditions and correlated to streamflow lost through the West Creek streambed. During high-flow conditions, streamflow was transmitted throughout West Creek; however, during low-flow conditions, all streamflow from the perennial headwaters was lost within the 300 to 600 m “upper reach,” where an 1889 mine map indicated steeply dipping coalbeds underlie the channel. During low-flow conditions, the channel within the “intermediate reach,” 700 to 1,650 m downstream, gained groundwater seepage with higher pH and specific conductance than upstream; however, all streamflow 1,650 to 2,050 m downstream was lost to underlying mines. Electrical resistivity and electromagnetic conductivity surveys indicated conductive zones beneath the upper reach, where flow loss occurred, and through the intermediate reach, where gains and losses occurred. Temperature probes at 0.06 to 0.10 m depth within the hyporheic zone of the intermediate reach indicated potential downward fluxes as high as 2.1 × 10−5 m/s. Cumulative streamflow lost from West Creek during seepage runs averaged 53.4 L/s, which equates to 19.3 percent of the daily average discharge of abandoned mine drainage from the Oak Hill Boreholes and a downward flux of 1.70×10−5 m/s across the 2.1 km by 1.5 m West Creek stream-channel area.

Результаты и перспективы использования гидродинамической модели распространения паводочных волн в бассейне реки Амур

A 2013 disastrous inundation occurred on the Amur River indicated the necessity of reaching new solutions for floods prevention and their negative consequences minimization. One of the possible ways is development of a method for setting the discharge hydrograph of the Bureya, Nizhne-Bureya and Zeya reservoirs, nonsynchronous with the forecasted hydrograph of the flood wave passage for flood-risky ranges of the Middle and Lower Amur on the basis of the flood wave transformation calculations. Results of the digital experiments on simulating the Amur runoff transformation with a hydrodynamic model developed by RosNIIVKh Far Eastern Branch on the basis of DHI-MIKE11 for the Middle and Lower Amur for information/analytical support of the Amur BWA activities on determination of the high-water passage regime for the reservoirs. As a result of the hydrodynamic model verification over the 2016–2017 period as a whole we obtained satisfactory estimations of the simulation quality criteria. On the basis of the simulation results analysis requirements to the boundary conditions have been formulated in addition to the determination of a range of practical tasks to be solved to adopt successfully the hydrodynamic simulation methods to the operative practice of the flood regulation in the Amur River basin including provision of the beds’ and floodplains’ morphometric and hydraulic characteristics relevance; the use of the runoff formation modern forecast hydrological models calculation data; and automation of the scenario calculations on the basis of integration with the Far Eastern Department of Hydro/meteorological Service state hydrological monitoring information system.

Hydrological Modeling of Tributaries of Cantareira System, Southeast Brazil, with the Swat Model

ABSTRACT The lack of hydrological data in Brazil is the main limitation for structuring hydrological models, which are able to assist water resources management. Therefore, studies are needed to evaluate the performance of models without on-site calibration. Within this context, the aim of this study was to calibrate the SWAT hydrological model for the Camanducaia River Basin and to evaluate the performance of this calibration in a contiguous drainage basin, one of the Jaguari River. For the calibration and validation steps, the SWAT-CUP program was utilized. Uncertainty analysis and calculation of efficiency indexes were carried out through the SUFI-2 algorithm. The SWAT adjustment in the Camanducaia River Basin obtained adequate results, with a Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient higher than 0.80 in the monthly time step and of 0.64 for the daily time step. With the parametrical transfer of this model to the Jaguari River Basin, simulations were classified as very good in the monthly time step and acceptable for the daily time step. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the parametric transfer is a promising technique to model ungauged catchments, and can contribute towards water resources management in the river basins of the Mantiqueira Range region, as well as in other regions with shortage of hydrological monitoring.

Ice dices for monitoring stream surface velocity

Non-intrusive observations are fundamental to monitor river flows and understand water processes in natural systems. Recently, the introduction of optical methods has fostered the establishment of numerous image-based techniques for characterizing the kinematics of water bodies. However, RGB image-based methods are still severely affected by illumination conditions and tracers’ visibility. In this note, the integration of particle-shaped tracers and thermal imagery is applied to characterize the surface velocity field of a natural stream. Specifically, the trajectories of a few grams of artificially deployed ice dices are reconstructed by analyzing thermal images with particle tracking velocimetry. Average surface flow velocities are in agreement with benchmark values estimated with a current meter. This proof of concept experiment demonstrates the efficacy of thermal imagery for hydrological monitoring and paves the way to the integration of thermal signals in standard water gauging systems.

Spatially and temporally systematic hydrologic changes within large geoengineered landslides, Cromwell Gorge, New Zealand, induced by multiple regional earthquakes

AbstractGeoengineered groundwater systems within seven large (23 × 104–9 × 106 m2), deep‐seated (40–300 m), previously slow‐creep (2–5 mm/yr.) schist landslides in the Cromwell Gorge responded systematically to 11 large (Mw > 6.2) earthquakes at epicentral distances of 130–630 km between 1990 and 2013. Landslide groundwater is strongly compartmentalized and often overpressured, with permeability of 10−17 to 10−13 m2 and flow occurring primarily through fracture and crush zones, hindered by shears containing clayey gouge. Hydrological monitoring recorded earthquake‐induced meter‐ or centimeter‐scale changes in groundwater levels (at 22 piezometers) and elevated drainage discharge (at 11 V notch weirs). Groundwater level changes exhibited consistent characteristics at all monitoring sites, with time to peak‐pressure changes taking ~1 month and recovery lasting 0.7–1.2 years. Changes in weir flow rate near instantaneous (peaking 0–6 h after earthquakes) and followed by recession lasting ~1 month. Responses at each site were systematic from one earthquake to another in terms of duration, polarity, and amplitude. Consistent patterns in amplitude and duration have been compared between sites and with earthquake parameters (peak ground acceleration (PGA), seismic energy density (e), shaking duration, frequency bandwidth, and site amplitude). Shaking at PGA ~0.27% g and e ~ 0.21 J m−3 induced discernable gorge‐wide hydrological responses at thresholds comparable to other international examples. Groundwater level changes modeled using a damped harmonic oscillator characterize the ability of the system to resist and recover from extrinsic perturbations. The observed character of response reflects spectral characteristics as well as energy. Landslide hydrological systems appear most susceptible to damage and hydraulic changes when earthquakes emit broad‐frequency, long‐duration, high‐amplitude ground motion.

Low-Cost Stand-Alone System for Real-Time Hydrological Monitoring

Abstract Water resource managers and scientists have recognized the need for data at spatial and temporal resolutions relevant to the hydrological cycle. The dearth of hydrological data sets has been noted as a critical barrier to developing effective water resource management strategies. Limited funding has been noted as a major contributing factor to the limited establishment of sustainable environmental monitoring networks to capture these data sets. To address these concerns, an inexpensive real-time hydrological monitoring station (RTHS) was designed to collect data with similar performance to existing commercially available sensors. The RTHS was built with both commercially available and custom-engineered components, using enabling technology to reduce capital and operations and maintenance costs. The RTHS incorporated a modular design for easy integration of multiple sensors and implementation of upgrades with less expensive and more reliable components as emerging technologies become available. In...

Assessment of urban growth in Guangzhou using multi-temporal, multi-sensor Landsat data to quantify and map impervious surfaces

ABSTRACTOver the past few decades, one of the most important global environmental issues has been the increasing transformation of natural landscape cover to impervious surface (IS) as a result of urbanization. A wide range of urban ecology fields, such as urban hydrology, urban climatology, urban planning, and urban ecosystem monitoring, demand accurate and timely information on land use and land cover in urban areas. As part of one of the fastest growing regions in China, Guangzhou is experiencing rapid urban expansion. We developed a combined method that integrates spectrum normalization, normalized spectral mixture analysis (NSMA), threshold segmentation, and a spatiotemporal modification approach to map the Guangzhou urban extent, through quantification of IS as a continuous variable using Landsat series images. We also developed a method to automatically extract water from Thematic Mapper (TM)/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)/Operational Land Imager (OLI) imagery. The results indicated that the integrated approach is accurate, powerful, and effective. The Guangzhou assessment showed that from 1973 to 2013 the amount of urban area with sub-pixel IS larger than or equal to 55% increased from 0.27% to 30.58%, an increase in urban extent of more than 100-fold over 40 years.

Environmental problems of water resources the Busk district

There is studied the ecological status of surface waters in Busk district. The attention is focused on the largest river Western Bug and its tributaries which essentially influence on the ecological condition. The analysis of hydrological monitoring in the basin of the Western Bug is done. Analysis of water pollution in the river is performed with use of fixed position state hydrological monitoring system posts. There are studied the data concerning pollution indicators for 2015 year and 3 seasons of 2016. A comparison of contamination in two points outside the district is carried out. There are considered river Poltva before its waters reach the district and flow into Western Bug and the river Western Bug after it lefts the district. The exceeding of the threshold limit values for some indicators is revealed. In all cases there is a slight excess of the TLV over the content of iron and ammonium ions. In Poltva have been considerable (3–6 times) exceeding the TLV for COD and BOD5, ammonium salt 8.4 times, total iron – 4.3 times, nitrites – in 6.75 times, suspended solids – 3.3 times, phenol – at 2.45 times. Therefore, the section of the city Buzka to the city Kamenka–Bug, Radekhiv bridge river water is not suitable for any water use. The self–cleaning of the water is happening within the district is and the second point of monitoring shows these indicators are within limits. The largest source of organic pollutants and nutrients into Western Bug River is the river Poltva. Insufficiently treated sewage of Lviv increases the level of water contamination. In the district however there are also a source of pollution of surface water with ions of ammonium and iron. For their identification the further observation are required.